Ehud Netzer (1934–2010)

Ehud Netzer was a sabra (native-born Israeli) archaeologist and architect and the world's foremost authority on buildings of the Herodian era, including Herodium, the fortified palace complex built atop a small mountain near Bethlehem. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the Technion and obtained a doctorate in archaeology from Hebrew University. He began his archaeology career working on the dig at Masada led by Yigael Yadin. After Prof. Yadin's death, Netzer completed the final excavation report, The Buildings, Stratigraphy and Architecture of Masada. In 1968, Netzer initiated and directed large-scale excavations at the site of King Herod's winter palace at Jericho, which included gardens and pools. In 1972, he began excavating at the huge palace complex of Herodium, at which he eventually discovered Herod's tomb in 2007. He became a professor at Hebrew University, and taught courses that combined architecture and archaeology. He helped educate several generations of Israeli archaeologists. From 1985 to 1993, he directed the Hebrew University expedition to Zippori (Sepphoris) in the lower Galilee in northern Israel. There he helped find a synagogue whose mosaic floor has been exhibited at museums such as the Jewish Museum in New York. Prof. Netzer was killed at age 76 by injuries he sustained in a fall at the site of Herod's tomb.